Comments

• 09/01/2008 @ 09:48 Wolfie said

  

  What is it about the rez that is so special to you? Is it the community or the place? I am just very interested as I know so little about American Indian reservations.

  Love Wolfie

• 09/01/2008 @ 22:32 thorn said

  

  It's hard to explain. It is not a romantic place. High School drop out rates are high. Men live to an average of 44 years. Alcoholism, suicide, and murder are higher than the national average. It's partially the community, people who have the same experiences as you. They understand what commodities are ( http://www.fns.usda.gov/fdd/programs/fdpir/pfs-fdpir.pdf ). They underwstand why I hate the IHS (Indian Health Service). Every year someone I knew died of exposure to either cold or heat. Every year someone I knew died of alchoholism. Every year someone I knew lost a young child or baby. The rez is a big, beautiful, and brutal place where I will be accepted based on who my grandparents are. Where I know what is expected of me, I know the rules, I fit in. Where I'm not an alien. I'm luckier than most because I pass, but that brings its own issues.